Value of prototyping: How to quickly solve business IT problems for your SAP solutions

In the broadest strokes, the best way to address complex IT issues is quite clear:

Isolate the problem

Develop a solution

Implement it

But as you may know, this is usually easier said than done.

First of all, isolating the root of the problem can be tricky. Is it slow hardware? Improper configuration? Outdated software? I think many companies would love to answer this question without hiring a cadre of consultants. Wouldn’t that be nice?

And, how do you develop and test the solution to the problem without spending on software licensing fees? True, you could go the homegrown approach. But if you’re like most organizations, you want a standardized approach that aligns with the vendor you’ve invested in.

Finally, how do you implement in a way that avoids disruption, minimizes costs, and allows your IT team to remain focused on core activities that drive value for your organization? The last thing you want is an implementation project based on trial and error. I’ve seen that movie before – it doesn’t end well.

Value prototyping with SAP

Fortunately for SAP customers, there’s a better way forward with cloud-based value prototyping services from SAP. These services include:

Solution envisioning – Seasoned SAP experts lead workshops where they combine design thinking with unparalleled technical, process, and product knowledge. This helps you quickly zero in on the root of the problem you face. The result is a road map for moving forward.

Solution prototyping – We help resolve the issue you face with a prototype solution that fills in functional gaps, streamlines business processes, speeds performance, or resolves other technical issues. Prototypes are designed and built at SAP facilities either from scratch or based on a copy of your environment – which eliminates disruptions at your site, avoids software licensing fees, and removes hardware costs from the equation. The result? You can make an informed decision about whether or not to move forward – with dramatically reduced risk and investment.

Solution templates – We help you speed implementation with a template-based solution that can serve as a starting point for your production environment or be used as a design reference. Based on the SAP standard, these templates reuse proven configurations that help you get a jump-start on your implementation project. The result is less demand on internal IT resources and rapid time to value compared to other approaches.

The use case briefcase (SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA)

There are several use cases for value prototyping with SAP. Some of our customers want to identify longstanding obstacles to greater efficiency. Others want more visibility into existing business processes. Still others want to improve quality while driving down costs.

Lately, however, I notice one particular use case that stands out: preparing for ongoing innovation with the SAP HANA platform especially talking about SAP S/4HANA. As you may know, SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA help companies simplify their landscapes so that they can do more, faster – and with greater insight. For many customers, value prototyping vis-à-vis SAP HANA and S/4HANA solutions is a low-risk way to evaluate the potential of this game-changing technology – and to move forward based on a solid proof of concept.

The value of value prototyping

At the risk of repeating myself . . . I’m going to wrap up by repeating myself, at least regarding the value of value prototyping with SAP. While traditional approaches to solving IT problems involve high-risk, high-cost adventures that often fail to pay off, value prototyping with SAP can help you:

Reduce risk– by minimizing the cost of evaluating new business processes and software before making final investment decisions

Speed time to value– by jump-starting new implementation projects with content templates

Minimize the cost of development and deployment– by eliminating upfront hardware purchases as well as the need to install and patch software or configure content

Increase innovation– by leveraging the latest technology, best practices, and expertise offered by SAP